"Need the same energy for Shohei Ohtani's struggles that Aaron Judge has been receiving" - Ex-World Series champ slams Dodgers superstar amid WS woes

Both Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge haven't had the World Series fans would have expected. The pair started Game 5 of the Fall Classic on Wednesday with the same record in four games played, but Yankees captain Judge staked his claim as one of the best offensive players in the sport with a two-run homer in the first.

Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge are the frontrunners to be crowned the MVPs in their respective leagues. While Dodgers superstar Ohtani posted the first 50-50 season of all time with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases, the Yankees captain led all majors in home runs, OPS, OBP and RBIs.

In the first four games of the final series, both players were hitting 2-for-15. Judge seemed to have found some form at the plate with an RBI single in his last at-bat on Tuesday. He carried over the form as he hit his first pitch on Wednesday out of the ground for a two-run home run into right center field.

Ohtani, though, continued to struggle with two fly outs, a strike out and a ground out. He reached base only once in the eighth innings on catcher's interference.

Former World Series champion with the Houston Astros, Cameron Maybin took to X (formerly Twitter) to give his two cents about the situation, saying that it's unfair how Judge attracts a lot of hatred for his performances while Ohtani's form goes unnoticed.

"I need the same energy for Ohtani's struggles that Judge has been receiving," Maybin demanded.

The situation is slightly different for both players, as Ohtani is playing with a partial dislocation in his left shoulder after trying to steal a base in game 2 of the series last week.

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Aaron Judge makes costly outfielder error in Game 5 against Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers

New York were cruising in the fifth innings with a 5-0 lead. In the top half of the innings, with a man base, Dodgers infielder Tommy Edman hit a flyball towards center field that would have been a routine catch for Aaron Judge to get the first out. However, the former AL MVP dropped the ball, marking his first error in 2024.

Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers rallied and scored five runs of their own to tie the game in the same inning. At the time of writing, they lead 7-6 in the top of the ninth innings.